The World Cup in review: the 10 top story lines

JOHANNESBURG -- Well, it's over. After a month of action and intrigue, the World Cup has come and gone. These are the 10 story lines that stand out:

big teams That fizzled

While some of the world's top soccer nations excelled, many were huge letdowns. France and Italy both succumbed in the group stages while England barely showed up for their Round of 16 match against Germany. France famously succumbed to in-team fighting, a terrible coach, and a lack of cohesiveness that culminated with a player strike and the sending home of striker Nicolas Anelka.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi brought the wrong team and it was obvious as the Italians scored only four goals in three games while securing a meager two points in a relatively easy group.

England, which had high hopes entering the tournament, suffered from injuries to key players (Rio Ferdinand), a lack of form from others (Robert Green, John Terry, Wayne Rooney) and a general lack of fitness after a long club season for their aging stars.

gap between best and worst has narrowed

South Korea and Japan both exceeded expectations and advanced from group play with structured play and hard work. Japan was expected to be the worst team in their group, easy wins for the Netherlands, Denmark, and Cameroon. But it was anything but as work ethic and good solid defense saw it through with wins over Cameroon and Denmark. South Korea, which had slightly higher expectations, overcame a resounding loss to Argentina to beat Greece and draw Nigeria, sneaking through on goal differential. It took a wonder goal from Luis Suarez of Uruguay in the dying moments of their Round of 16 game to prevent them from advancing to the quarterfinals.

Maybe the most inspiring story of the tournament was New Zealand, which was the only team of the tournament not to lose a game, drawing each game.

And the Oscar goes to...

I know it's part of the game, but something needs to be done about diving and writhing on the ground in pain. It is ruining the sport and inhibiting on-the-fence fans worldwide from getting interested in soccer. It's getting out of control how many times players were fouled and acted as if it were the worst thing to ever happen to them. Most notably, the Ghanian players milking the clock against the USA in their Round of 16 match after scoring the go-ahead goal in extra time. If you are fouled, you will get the call, so move on with the game and stop rolling around as if you were shot.

time to change officiating.

FIFA claims it got 96 percent of the calls correct in the tournament. That may be well and good, but it missed calls in huge spots. Not only did officials disallow two perfectly good USA goals, not see England's goal against Germany go over the goal line, and miss the fact that Carlos Tevez was in an offside position for the first goal against Mexico, but they were silly about numerous red cards issued throughout.

First, figure something out for penalty-box calls. If you don't want video replay (which will never happen). then do something else. The NHL has officials sitting behind the goal with a buzzer. Their sole job is to watch whether the puck crosses the line. To a further extent, do what UEFA did in the Europa League and add two officials to make calls in the box.

FIFA refuses to admit any need for change. It insists on using its own officials at the expense of using the best referees in the world, those employed by UEFA, the British Premier League, and La Liga.

My take on the Vuvuzela and Jabulani debate.

OK, here's the deal. I understand why people find vuvuzelas annoying. They are loud and when someone blows one in the vicinity of your ear it's terrible.

But anyone who has blown one knows how much fun it is. They have given an identity to this World Cup and for better or worse have embedded themselves in soccer for years to come. I guarantee that vuvuzelas will be heard in club football throughout Europe this upcoming season.

Maybe the Jabulani is a bad ball. Maybe it is half-an-ounce lighter than normal balls used by professionals.

But the players are exactly that, professionals. The best in the world. Get over it. By now teams have been using them for up to three months, so stop complaining and figure it out.

It feels as if soccer players love to blame anyone but themselves -- the ball, the refs, the noise, the opposing players. A line needs to drawn and a point needs to be reached where professionalism takes over.

first final without THE BIG 4

When I heard this, I couldn't believe it. It really shows the domination of those four teams over the years. Maybe the rest of the world is finally catching up. Despite the fact none of them made it to this year's final, three of the four teams showed why they are the traditional best. Brazil brought a team made for winning but one slip-up and loss of concentration cost them the chance to win a title on a fifth continent (Sweden 1958, Chile 1962, Mexico 1970, USA 1994, Korea/Japan 2002). Germany, despite low expectations this year because of a key injury (captain Michel Ballack) and a young squad, proved it can never be counted out and why it's reached the quarterfinals in 16 of 19 tournaments, including two in which it did not participate.

It has reached the semifinals 12 times. That record is even more astounding than Brazil's.

Argentina coach Diego Maradona proved for three weeks that he has the ability to coach at this level and is more than a celebrity manager. Yes, his team crumbled against Germany, and maybe he should have given Diego Milito a look, but he can hardly be criticized for his coaching. Some say he had a lack of a strategy with his team, but in all honesty, he did what he should have done, which was let his uber-talented team play.

club season took its toll

Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Christiano Ronaldo, Frank Ribery and Fernando Torres combined for ONE goal. These were the most highly anticipated goal scorers coming into the tournament and expectations were extremely high. Each one of them was coming off the back of an arduous club season, where they proved why they are the world's best. For Messi, widely considered the best player in the world today, a successful tournament would have cemented him as one of the best ever. Rooney, who dominated as the Manchester United hit-man all season, simply ran out of steam.

Torres had battled injuries throughout Liverpool's campaign and despite regaining his fitness, never regained the form that netted 72 times in all competitions over the past three years.

Ronaldo was set to provide his own case for world's best but also disappointed, scoring only once.

If Portugal was going to make the deep run they hoped for, Ronaldo needed to be at the form he has showed for Manchester United and most recently Real Madrid.

There is nothing to say about Ribery other than he was the biggest letdown of all.

He squabbled with players and the coach, complaining that he would only play in his favored position, choosing himself over the team. He showed none of the flair and creative capacity he so often produces for Bayern Munich.

Why did the African teams flounder?

African players have become some of the best players in the world for their European club teams.

They infuse their athleticism, technical ability and toughness into clubs and teams around the continent. But for whatever reason, African nations, chock-full of European superstars, so often disappoint and play poorly together.

Why?

True, half of the six teams endured major injuries to key players before the tournament began. Cameroon, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast, and South Africa all struggled to play well as a team despite talented individuals. Some blame the installment of over-paid foreign coaches who didn't utilize African players' unique talents and style of play. Others claimed that the players all tried to do too much and didn't work well as a team.

Either way, five of the six African teams saddened a continent as only Ghana advanced from the group stages.

Emerging players make the world their stage

Just as there always are, a number of young players shined in the World Cup and will most likely be on the world stage for years to come.

Here are a few: Giovanni Dos Santos of Mexico electrified fans with his speed and the way he ran at defenders. Luis Suarez of Uruguay, who scored the most goals in Europe for club side Ajax this past year, proved he can do it at the International level as well. His teammate Edison Cavani, who plays for Palermo in Italy, also inspired fans with his technical ability on the wing. Lee Chung-Yong of South Korea, who plays for Bolton Wanderers in England, was one of the highlights for the scrappy overachievers.

Michael Bradley was the best payer for the USA in this tournament. The 22 year-old has been playing in Europe for over three years and already he has grown out of his childish ways that used to saddle him with numerous yellow cards.

He played well as a defensive midfielder and his runs forward were well-timed and visionary, leading to numerous USA chances.

Thanks to this tournament, he is set to make a move to one of Europe's big clubs.

Two Ghanian players stick out for their contributions, Asamoah Gyan (24) and Andre Ayew (20). Gyan electrified with his pace and finishing (minus his infamous penalty miss) and Ayew, who had an 85 percent pass completion rate as an attacking midfielder, is set to become the next great African midfielder in Europe.

Then there are Thomas Mueller and Mesut Ozil of Germany, both of whom play for Bayern Munich and are 20 and 21 respectively. Mueller was electrifying on the wings and Ozil impressed with his creatively and vision on the ball.

The duo combined for six goals, five of which came from Mueller

Spain solidifies its position as world's best

It is the first team to hold both the European and World Cup titles since France in 1998 and 2000.

Its team is made up primarily of the core of Barcelona, arguably the world's most exciting team, and three of its other starters are the core of Real Madrid, the richest team in the world.

Despite all of that skill, Spain scored only eight goals in the tournament, the least of any winner by three goals.

In doing so, it proved that even when not at its attacking best, its superb defending, which yielded a tournament low two goals, would get it through. Combined with its superior possession rate and its 80 percent pass completion rate, Spain proved that the best defense is keeping the ball away from the other team.